Increase The Limit On Your American Express Card By Up To 3 Times It’s Starting Amount

If you don’t have a long credit history one thing you’ll notice is that it’s hard to get credit cards with large credit limits. In most cases this is not an issue because you can simply pay off the card early and then reuse the limit for that month. Unfortunately some cards require a minimum credit limit to be approved (e.g World MasterCard’s have a $5,000 minimum limit).

Lenders usually don’t want to be the first ones to extend you a large credit limit, as it’s an increased risk for them. Whereas if they see you already have high limits they are more likely to give you an equally large limit as they can see you haven’t abused it.

American Express is one issuer that’s not afraid of giving larger limits, possibly because they charge merchants more to process their cards and thus make higher profit margins and can tolerate greater risks. Whatever the case they usually offer high credit limits.

Increasing your credit limit can also help you to have a lower overall credit utilization (assuming you spend the same amount), as the amount of total credit you have available is increased. This is an important scoring factor for the FICO score. Although this positive can easily be matched by simply paying your credit cards before the statement posts to reduce the amount of debt you have that is reported to the credit bureaus.

This guide is meant for people who can use credit responsibly.

The interest rates on most American Express cards are quite high, if you often find yourself with maxed out credit cards that aren’t paid off within the grace period then this guide is NOT for you.

The best thing about American Express is that it’s easy to get your credit limit approved by up to 200% of it’s current limit. For example, if you’re limit is $1,000 you can get it increased to $3,000. Below is our short guide to getting this increase:

Rules For American Express Credit Limit Increases:

You must wait a minimum of 60 days after a card is opened before requesting a credit limit increase from American Express, unless you have another American Express issued credit card that has been open for at least six months

You must wait a period of six months in between credit limit increases from American Express. This applies across all of your American Express cards.

If you’re denied, you must wait 90 days before applying for an increase again

If you successfully receive a credit limit increase you can apply for another one after six months. In general this is much more difficult to receive than the first increase unless your income has gone up significantly.

Tips For Receiving A Credit Limit Increase:

Decrease the amount of debt you have with other credit card issuers. Make sure your credit cards off before the statement posts, this way the reported balance will be 0. A common denial reason

How To Request The Credit Limit Increase

Call the number on the back of your card and follow the prompts. Requesting a credit limit increase is usually button 3 or 4 after calling the initial number. OR

Online:

Log into your American Express account

Click profile & preferences

Click more options

Under account management click “manage credit limit”

Click start then follow the prompts

When requesting the increase, make sure you request a limit that is three times your opening limit if you want to increase your limit by the maximum allowed. For example, if American Express gave you a limit of $3,000 request a limit of $9,000.

What To Do If You’re Denied:

If you’re denied, it’s not the end of the world. After all it was only a soft inquiry and you had nothing to lose. American Express is required to send you a letter of adverse action notice when this happens, this will list the reasons as to why you were denied for the credit limit increase along with any credit score they used in the decision.

Try to improve on the reasons they gave you for denial if possible (see our tips section) and then wait 90 days before trying again.

Don’t believe this works?

Why not read over 73 pages of success stories (mixed with some failures as well, but nobody really fails as you have nothing to lose) in this myFICO forum thread.

You can find out if other card issuers do a soft or hard pull by clicking here.

294 Responses to Increase The Limit On Your American Express Card By Up To 3 Times It’s Starting Amount

Great site, and thanks in advance for response.
I have a balance of $4,000 on another cc that has a 12,000 limit.
My fico score is 800.
My American Express has a $1000 limit, I’ve had the card over 10 years and have never asked for a CLI.
Based on the info given what are my chances of having AE increase me to $3000 without a hard pull on my credit report?

My credit line on one of my cards was already really high. I asked to increase to 20,000, and it was approved immediately. I figured that they wouldn’t give me 37K in limit. Don’t need it anyways, but if it helps my FICO score, I’m in. Thanks for the guide!!

This has been a godsend in establishing a good line of credit with all of my cards. 6 years ago I was struggling with a $500 limit card from USAA with a student account, now my credit limit on the Fidelity Amex (after several requests) is $50k. A limit like that opens all sorts of manufactured spend options (might as well pay taxes with it), keeps my credit score and utilization low and gives me piece of mind knowing I can always float any emergency expenses. It also means almost every other new card from any issuer comes with a big fat limit at least in the ballpark of $20k+.

I’ll say that there’s some limit to this. Beyond 50k I think you may need to show substantial assets if you’re really looking for a big boost.

I’m anxious to see my results. Just yesterday, I paid off all my other cards, so as soon as they all show $0 balances, I’ll ask for my Amex increase.

Funny thing is, I’ve only had this card (green card) for going on three months, but from checking my spending limit on their site, to appears to have already gone from around $6K to at least $15K, without asking for it. And my FICO scores are just in the low to mid 600’s! Maybe it’s because I’ve been charging everything, then paying in full, including a $4K down payment on a car? Can anybody shed some light on this?

I’m not gonna ask them for a 200% increase, because that’ll probably mean having to show proof of income (which I currently don’t have). I’d be ecstatic to just see it bumped up to $24K.

I know this is an old thread but, it may not be such a good idea to have $0 balances. Carry a little bit at least. Say you have 4 cards, each with a $2,500 limit and you have a total balance between them of $1,000. Your utilization rate is 10% or $1,000/$10,000 limit. Once you pay that off, it becomes 0/$10,000 and that = 0. The credit algorithms may see that as non-use.
Also, a side note, I have paid off a few cars and one student loan at different and my scores have gone down temporarily. Not only that, when loans are paid off, you lose your length of credit history on those loans and same token, if you take out a new car loan, you then divide 1 month of loan tenure into your total age of credit history and remove XX months that you had your previous auto loan. Just some food for thought.

Not true Fico scoring models love to see 0 balance on high credit limits my Fico drops when I carry a balance. Check your facts Jack before giving out wrong info to people trying to do the right thing.

Where do i check these facts jack? You won’t find that answer on fico’s website.

And perhaps I was not clear. I’m not advocating paying interest but paying in full each month.

In contrast to you, I have paid a card down to $0 and had no activity after and my score dropped.

And the overall balance I was talking about would be ideally a total 1% utilization across all cards. All of my Fico scores are right around 800 and my vantage scores at TU 786 and EQ 782. No my utilization is not where I want it to be at this point but it is good enough.

I am sorry if you feel I am misleading folks but I am sharing my experience with others here because of things I’ve been through. I’m not here to patronize you but you already know fico scoring is not as black and white as they make it to be.

Is there a higher chance of Amex denying an application for a new card down the line because they’ve extended you too much credit? Or at the very least failing instant approval and having to call the reconsideration line to move credit lines around?

I just did the opposite of this with Barclay. I moved my credit line from the US Airways card to the Arrival+ card which is coming up for renewal soon. I plan on cancelling the Arrival+ card when the fee hits. My reasoning is that Barclay will be more likely to approve me for a new card if it hasn’t extended so much credit to me already.

William, I highly value your opinion on things like this. What are you thoughts?

Great site. Thank you for the guide.
I had a $12,000 credit limit. After reading your site I applied for $24,000 limit online and got immediately approved (seconds after hitting “submit”). Wish I had applied for 30,000 😉
Will try again next year…

Hi William, Do you know if the 6 month between credit increase requests counts if they increase your credit limit automatically first? I’ve had the SPG Amex for around a year and a half and they have increased the limit automatically two times without me asking. I was looking to make an increase request on it, but do not know if it has been six months since they automatically increased it. Thanks!

I can confirm that the automatic credit increase does not negatively affect the 6 month wait period. They base it on the last time the customer requested a limit increase not on when they decide to “reward” with an automatic increase. I originally had a $3k limit that was randomly increased to $4.2k 2 months later I requested an increase to $10k (just un 3x the new limit of 4.2k) and was immediately approved. My FICO hangs out at around 755. Hope this helps.

I opened my Blue card in Aug ’14 over the phone while on vacation and got $5K. I got an auto to $7K just in April (my Quicksilver auto’d to $5500) when I was going to inquire in May! Now, I just got an email congratulating me for $9K CL. I was going to wait at least until January ’16. I did request an increase for my BofA card [hard inquiry] for $2K totally forgetting the 3X’s rule just last month. Considering that it was a hard pull when in August it was not… I’m leaving BofA alone no matter how many offers my give me PLUS seem to not honor low interest rates if you inquire. I have yet to receive an auto in the 9 years I’ve been a customer too.

Anyway, I’m cool with the $9K for now as I’m kind of obsessed with watching my limits and monitoring my score. I have 698 TU and 708 EQ as of today. I don’t know why my score plummeted about 15 points for each but it’s OK I’m working on being more of a responsible credit card holder.

If I get an auto to $12K before/by December I’ll not ask for an increase. The auto’s are reassuring regardless if AMEX is freely increasing limits nowadays. Just last year I never thought I’d get an Amex. I almost chose Discover!

Lastly, I’m on the into offer of 0% until December which had been a blessing. I do wonder if the 19.99% afterwards will stick though. That’s higher than any of my cards and kind of worries me!

I just got an auto increase of $12K which was a sure surprise to me with all the activity happening over the past 3 months. I was not even thinking about an increase of limit!!

I’m excited about this. It’s interesting how AMEX is really the only company I noticed that does these automatic increases of credit limit. I do like it! They do mention my excellent history with them being their reasoning. I do pay at least a bit over 1/4 of my outstanding balance each month! Now I just need to stay at 30% or less.

Thanks for the wonderful article. I applied for a CLI after 40 days of getting the card and was approved. My limit was raised from 6k to 18k. After I applied it gave me a message saying the decision will be mailed in 7 to 10 days but the credit limit changed in the homepage. So Yayy!! Also, I can vouch for the fact that Amex is not enforcing the 60 day rule (since opening the account) anymore. Source: Their customer care agent.

Only requested for one card if you get an approval, I have 2 AE cards, and after I got approved from $9.8k to $20k, I applied to the other one right away and I got denied. I called CSR, to know why with my exelent credit was denied, and they told me to wait 6 months, and the reason of the denied was, because they approved me the limit increase on one card, they don’t approve in 2 o more cards, only one.Oh the CSR told me for that, I’m getting only a “soft inquiry”

I asked for the CLI. Denied!!! Reason: “We cannot raise the credit limit of a card within six months of increasing the credit limit on another AmEx card”. So there you have it. They still enforce the 6 month rule.

Do any of you request for CLI and did not get an instant approval. I had my AMEX for almost 5mos now with 5k CL I have been paying on time and paying 3x more than more than my monthly payment due. I have applied today a m d it says that they my request is being process and they will notify me.. Is that means that my request is denied?? Please let me know..

I was approved for a CLI to $15k, but I think there was a mistake? I’m in college still and work p/t and make 8600 but I think I may have accidentally input 86000 or something, should I be worried? Am I going to get in trouble? I should cancel my card…

I applied for AMex green card, when they checked the status of my applications it says my application is canceled.
So I called to customer service I was informed that I need to prove my income.
I am making 156K annually am just wondering whether my application will get approved 🙁

Curious…. I went through the procedure a month ago and got a CLI to 25k thanks to D.O.C. If I did again in a few months does anyone know if there is a cap on Amex credit limits? I have a Amex Blue Cash card. Could someone potentially get a 50k credit line through this method. Would be great for lowering overall credit utilization.

I would imagine you could move to the platinum card. I know certain cards carry certain maxes (IE I had a Wells Fargo college card, once the Amex showed up on my credit report, WF changed me over to their platinum card and upped my limit. Their college card apparently doesn’t go over a 3k limit). Maybe you could ask them what their highest credit line is on the blue card.

The black card is supposed to be limitless. However, this actually hurts your credit, as it shows up as additional account, but with no limit shown it messes with your utilization. FICO hasn’t quite factored in limitless cards yet. And it wasn’t as limitless as imagined… My err friend charged his business through his other business, and after 50k a month in charges they would tell him to wire them money, or they’re cutting off the card til the next month. He said fine cut off card your loss (as they charge quite a hefty fee to businesses). This happened 2 or 3 times til Amex gave up and let him do whatever. Amex is so fascinating to me with their credit decisions.

I am trying to build up my credit, i’m a student and relatively young. However certain things have happened in the past money wise and relied on my cards. I’m at a 50% utilization. I’m seeing all this talk on high limits and was thinking maybe if I got an Amex I could get a high limit then increase to ease up on utilization. However which card should I try for? I have 9 other credit cards out as it. Smallest limit is 450, highest is 3k.

Just fyi.. my score is low 600s and utilization around 60% on 7 other cards (using aprox 11000 on 20000 cl. I just applied online and was approved for 1000$, I’m going to try and get other balances down in the next 4560 days and then try this method. Just wanted to give you fyi on the utilization and approval odds.

Great Advice!!!! Today makes 30 days since I opened my AMEX Blue Cash card with $5k limit. I was a little apprehensive but I applied and was approved for $15k instantly….despite the rep telling me and the online AMEX info still saying wait until after 60 days…….hope this helps

Thank you for the post.
I got AMEX blue cash preferred card but i was approved for only $1000 even my score on FICO says 750.
I was no happy with the credit limit so as soon as i got the credit card i increased it $3000(3 X times).

If i want more can i increase it to $9000 in 6 months? Will i get approved?

Krish before reapplying please make sure that you have a 0 balance on the card as Mr.Williams has mentioned. Secondly, Amex will be monitoring your accounts so try to keep any other account balances around 0-30% utilization to give yourself the best chance for the increase. Creditors go off of not only score and history, but also by the amount that other lenders are giving you. So, if you have any other credit limits around $9000 then you will definitely have a strong chance at getting approved.,,,,,Hope this was helpful.

Thanks Alfred. I will try to make 0 balance on all the other cards which i have(discover,chase,oldnavy visa and bofa).From the last 1 year i am maintaining my over all utilization under 25%.

Just to give some information to others. very recently(March month end) i got approved for chase sapphire and discover both average 10k limit with a credit score of 743 by the time i apply. All i did was paying bills on time and utilization <25%.

I recently applied for Bluecash and approved for only $2000. I’am really surprised because my fico is 717,income $90000, other cards limit are $4000, $15000, $20000. Could you help me what I can do?
I am gonna call CL department directly and discuss for such a low CL. Is this a good idea? How can I persuade them?
Thanks guys in advance

Thanks for the info, I’ve had mine for a little over 90 days, My limit is $15,000 and did an increase to $30,000 and got approved instantly. I keep reading that most people do the 3x limit, should i have done 3x the limit which would’ve been $45,000 or since my limit was already high it would’nt work?

Yes, that is true. My high limits on two cards, including 15K on a new everyday card, affected my discover application that only offered me a 1K limit with high interest because I had too much available credit. I don’t think I should even dare asking for a 3X on my new everyday. My income is only $50K and my total available credit among six cards is $35K. Fico around 690. Only balance is on my everyday ($1200), so utilization is around 4%.

Hard to say because they not look at credit score and report but also income. If your income doesn’t represent the amount you are requesting they may deny… Income has to be reasonable to your request. Also, they may request proof of income the higher the amount you request.

Been reading through all the information provided here for the past few weeks! My limit is $5000 and my card is about 45 days old. Attempted CLI of $15000 today. Received a message regarding review for 7-10 days. Chatted with an online customer service rep and he initially stated that CLI requests are AFTER 60 days and usually the requests prior to are canceled. I asked if I had just “blown it” by applying prior to the 60 days. He then stated it was being “processed” which was baffling since I was just told that it would be cancelled. Hence, I now wait for a reply. I was hoping someone also had this experience and would share if they were eventually denied/approved. I noticed Rhona also had this experience but no one replied to the inquiry which in hindsight would have proved to be beneficial. Thankful for the information provided!! The information provided here was one of the main reasons I applied for the card in the first place!

Approved a few hours later! The rep did seem to catch his mistake and attempted to make it right by making notations regarding the request. I got notification within 2 hours of my request for 3X the credit limit. Just glad it worked!

Great advices William, keep it up. I just requested an increase online of my Blue Cash Card, and It was increased in 3 seconds from $9,800 to $20,000, I did that, after 2 days of activating my card, so I was feeling greedy tonight and I requested 2 minutes later an increase of another american express card that I have 3 weeks before that other one, the Amex everyday card. On that one my limit is $9500, and the message that I got was to wait 7 to 10 for a descision. I think because they gave me and increased already on the other one, they are going to denied me on this one. What do you think? I’ ll let you know when I get a response from them.

Hi, I applied for the Blue Cash Everyday on May 17, got the card 10 days later. Paid the balance yesterday and requested CLI to 3x today (June 15) and got instant approval.
Thanks a lot for the tips !!!!

Hey everyone, I have been reading through some of the comments here and would like to know if anyone could answer some questions for me. Currently I have several credit cards that have credit lines ranging from $1000 to $2500. I was recently approved from an AMEX card and was given an initial credit line of $500, the guy when I called in told me they send the card with a low credit line as a precaution so if it was compromised before I received it they wouldt have much of a loss, he told me to call in when the card arrives and they will give me an increase, I dont really believe that because I never heard that before from anyone, but then again this is my first AMEX card. I was hoping for a credit line of at least $2k. My FICO is okay, it is about 640. So could anyone tell me if this is true? Will I have to call in after the card arrives to have a decent credit line or I am going to have to be at this level for a while?

When I received my card I called in and was told I’d have to wait about 15 minutes to get an answer. A few hours later I got an email stating that the decision is now complete, when i logged in to check, it said I was denied an increase because I angry with amex long enough. That sucks because now I have a card with a low limit again, I was hoping to have grown out of that stage. But when I addled for the increase I asked for 3k credit line, which is a 5x increase. They told me top try again in a few months.

I applied for Amex Blue Cash about a month ago and it was denied. I think it’s because my credit utilization was over over 70%. I paid off majority of my credit cards and my CU is now 16%. I have another AMEX CL of 5K balance right now is $2400. Do you think if I apply again for the blue cash they will deny my application again or should I wait couple months to apply again?TIA

I attempted the 3x cli, had the card less than 60 days, got a notification of you will receive a letter in the mail 7-10 business days. Intially was approved for 5k asked for 15k which will bring my overall utilization down to under 5% only have about 9% amongst all 4 of my cards. Hope I get the raise to 15k.

I was approved for the 15k, policy update I only had the card for less than 15 days, if your gonna try to do the 3x cli, CALL IN, I was approved with a little haggling but I got it. They said they are getting stricter on the new card waiting till 62 day for the 3x cli, hope this helps a few more people out. Effective June 27, 2015

Yes, I put about 200$ on the card, payment was already pending bc I use my credit cards like cash. Like I said took a little bit of haggling meaning I have other cc, told them I would rather use there cards over competitor cards, an better rewards. Few minutes later it was done. I live in CST so ensure to call after 9am CST that way you don’t get a 7-10 notice an they can forward you to the right department

Got approved for 5k limit nov 2014 . Card maxed plus i was allowed to go overlimit by 900 because of emergency and all. Lost my job since and just starting my own business. Card balance niw 4k7. Will this work for me or i have to wait till balance is zero. Does current fico score matter too. Currently 620

I leave in the UK and I got a limit increase from £6000 to £12000. I initially applied for £18000 but got declined but Amex offered me £12000 instead.
After my credit increase of £12k, my Experian score jumped from 840 to 903.
When I applied for the limit increase, my credit score was 840, Amex balance of £3800/£6000, I had my Amex Everyday Charge card for 1.5 years, two credit cards in total (Nationwide £4350/£4950) and I never paid Amex full balance off, only minimal payments ever month.

Wow, thank you! I just requested a cli on my amex blue cash preferred card & was instantly approved for a $13500.00 limit from $4500! I’ve had the card for a few months, have 3 cards total with total limit of $6500 and recently had to make a large emergency purchase to fix my car so my utilization is 53% before this increase, I have a short credit history of one year but no late payments, no collection etc and I’m i happy I was approved because my utilization before increase dropped me 42 points in scores & would be worse this month. Thanks again!

Hello,
I have an amex everyday with 1k CL and today is my 61 days, I have other 2 credit cards with 4% utilization and fico score 720,but my credit file is very young (10 months). Would you recommend ask for the 3x CLI now or wait for a time more?I’ve paid in full my statement with amex and no late payment with the other credit cards.Thanks

I was just approved for the 3times CLI to 6000$ last night. Got the everyday card in May with a 2000$ limit. Was a little nervous but luckily was approved. My utilization on all 5 credit cards was about 35% and was actually over on a few statements.. My Amex balance was 935$ on the 2000$ card limit at the time of request (Discover card roughly 1,300$ balance on a 3,500 limit… Cap one with 90$ balance on 500 limit..cap one platinum with a 380$ balance on a 1000$ limit and a 1,700$ balance on a Home Depot card with 6,000$ limit) I was gonna wait till I paid off my other balances but I took a chance ..next time I will get my balances back under 10% before I request another increase on any cards but in this case it didn’t seem to matter. Had to log out then log back in to confirm about 5 times lol hope this helps

Opened business gold had for 2 months or so later their dropped limit to 2k. Just received a letter 6mos later stating no longer a spending limit and block has been removed. What are your thoughts at this point on what to do next? Ask for credit line increase during this period or leave as is….afraid if they block again, it will be at the 2k again….. Please help … All comments appreciated.

Opened business gold had for 2 months Later they dropped limit to 2k. Just received a letter 6mos later stating no longer a spending limit and block has been removed. What are your thoughts at this point on what to do next? Ask for credit line increase during this period or leave as is….afraid if they block again, it will be at the 2k again….. Please help … All comments appreciated. Should I apply for cli now? While on “unlimited spending limit”?

Hi William, no, I don’t know. But have read that is what Amex does to met acct or let’s say business charge cards. Woooo you in then lower your limit after a few mths to nothing. Then all of a sudden I rcvdthis letter to say I have no block. My question is since it was at 2k, should I now use this opportunity to apply for 3 x the cli? Or willie trigger this “unlimited” spending again and taken away? So confused.

Does anyone have any thoughts on if I should go ahead and apply for 3x CLI ? will it make a difference since I received this notice that states their is no spending limit imposed on the card and the 2k limit has been removed on the business gold card.

Thought I might post this question here since everyone seems like responsible spenders. I have four credit cards with a total CL of 18,800 and 100% payment history. My Amex is great and am looking forward to getting another CL increase in a few months. I was a big fan of Capital One’s Quicksilver Visa card until my 0% APR intro rate expired. I called the company several times to request that my APR rate be decreased from 22.9%. I have had the card since July 2014. Cap One said they cannot lower my interest and basically that I am stuck with it and have to suck it up. Being as though I’m not a long time customer, can someone advise me on how to converse with the supervisor to get my interest rate lowered? I really like this card but have barely been using it since that 22.9% APR went into effect.

Hey just want to say I’m a 44 year old guy that just getting in the credit world I have a thin credit file but I do have a two year old authorize user account on my credit Amex approved me for 3500 cl this month in August I was wondering in I can do the 3tx clip in now or wait tell 61 day rule…plz help

Thanks for this article. My American express blue cash card account newly opened June 3rd. And just went online requesting credit increase to do for 3xs the $2,000 and was instantly approved for $6,000 limit on August 25th. My credit score is in the 700s and I’ve only had a credit history for 1 year now and I’m 24. I have 2 unsecured cards no annual fees and started with a secured card with annual fee for my first 8 months of credit but closed it after getting 2 unsecured cards to avoid the yearly annual fee. Thanks again for this article the 3xs credit increase just worked for me $6000 my highest credit limit so far. I don’t plan on spending close to that much but it will help me not have to make so many payments a month to keep utilization under 10% from using the card a lot for the rewards benefits.

mystery to me how it worked for everybody else
just got declined, after applying on 63rd day, spent the 1k limit 3 times already in the first 2 months, and paid it 90%
they did soft pulls every month, my Experian is 698 higher than when i was approved, and still declined
reason : my relationship with amex is too new !!! really????
i guess everything goes on my Venture One card now, that had an initial limit of 3k

I received an Amex card last year, made payments on time every month and I had a credit limit of $3000. Followed the instructions given here…..asked for a $6000 CLI….Got the CLI in 3 seconds! Thank you for your info!

Just a comment that I went to apply for a credit line increase today and got asked to fill out a tax form request electronically in order to process to increase. Has anyone else seen this? I filled it out since I have nothing to hide but was surprised to see it.

I’m positive it was not a spoof website, it was after I logged in to the AmEx website. They asked for the tax returns to verify income in order to process the CL increase. Just thought it might be something new and wanted to see if anyone else on here had seen something similar yet.

Nothing new. They ask for that sometimes. Usually when requesting more than $25k. But they can ask for proof of income/funds whenever you request an increase. It states so online when u request an increase and in the card terms as well.

I received my Amex blue in the mail 7 days ago and after reading this review I said what the heck, I was originally given 2500 Cl so I asked for 7500 and they countered with 5,000 instantly online so I took it and ran with it! Thanks guys !!

Opened business gold had for 2 months Later they dropped limit to 2k. Just received a letter 6mos later stating no longer a spending limit and block has been removed. What are your thoughts at this point on what to do next? Ask for credit line increase during this period or leave as is….afraid if they block again, it will be at the 2k again….. Please help … All comments appreciated. Should I apply for cli now? While on “unlimited spending limit”?

I had my doubts, even after seeing numerous success stories! I received my Amex BCP today and immediately upon activation, requested 2.5X my starting credit limit and was instantly approved! Thanks for the info!

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Anyone have luck with their 2nd CLI? I’ve had the Amex Blue Cash Everyday since Oct 2014, starting limit 5.5k. Requested CLI in May 2015 to $12k (dont ask why, I chose a random number and that was before I started reading these blogs). So now its 6 months after my last CLI, should I ask for x3, so $36k?

Does this just apply to personal cards? Or does this work for business cards as well? I have a business card with a 3k line and a personal card with a 1k line. I’m assuming that I have a much better chance applying for the 1k to 3k rather than the 3k to 9k lol.

It doesn’t matter what you’re starting limit is, you request 3x and if they aren’t happy to extend you that much they will just extend the maximum they want. Always best to ask for 3x unless it’ll push you over the limit causing a hard pull.

Does reallocating across existing CL count towards a CLI request? I moved CL from the Costco card because its going away for good into another card. I applied and was approved for the EDP a week ago but the CL is $2K.

I have 12600 limit and requested a total new limit of 37500 and this is what ive got: a verification of income! Which I certainly dont wanna do.

Request an Increased Line of Credit
On the IRS 4506T form below:
Complete lines 1 – 4 as instructed.
In line 6, please request tax form “1040” and check the box at the end of line 6a.
In line 9, fill in the year end date for your 2 most recently completed tax returns.
Please note that your previous year’s tax transcript will not be available from the IRS until August 1st of this year.
To ensure prompt processing, please only request the most recent year available. (Ex: 12/31/20XX)

update: Ive closed the tab after I saw that and ive chatted with costumer service and they’ve told me that the request went through and that they will contact me with their decision within 7-10 days. I did not gave them consent to check my income though and i dont know what to do if they ask me to do that. Any suggestions are welcomed!

I got 2x my limit in November immediately after receiving my card. Does anyone know when I should ask for another or should I wait on auto CLI if so how long is that and at what point do they start asking for income verification

Thank you so much for your tips! I did not have a zero balance but it was less than 1k with a list of 7k. I received an increase to $21,000 instantly! I have a credit score in the 780 range. Thank you! So glad there was no hard pull! Great advice!

I attempted to increase my credit limit for the Costco TrueEarnings card, but they denied it and asked me to call in. The reason was because of the ending partnership with Costco. The rep also mentioned the bonus statement credits for switching to the BlueCash were for earlier customers and that there won’t be much, if any, in the future. But since he was just trying to sell me a card I don’t really believe him. I’d think Citi would have some incentives as well coming up and Amex will try to keep their customers.

Hi I have applied for American Express green card and I was approved I decided that I wanted the American Express gold Premier rewards card I was approved and I cancel the Green Card a week later I call and got approved for the everyday American Express credit card and was approved for a $2,000 credit line so I have called back the next day and I got a credit line increase $6,000 so I think that you don’t have to wait 60 days I am very happy with their service

I hate to burst your bubble, but i got an Amex every day card and applied for CLI soon as i received the card and was approves. I got the Amex blue cash card and applied for cli as soon as it came in and i got a letter in the male stating that I would need to wait 60 days before applying??

I applied for the Hilton Amex (no fee). I was approved for a $4000 CL. The rep on the phone told me I could request an increase immediately after activating card. I did so online and requested increase to 10k. I was approved. So once you receive the card you don’t necessarily need to wait 6 months. That same day I had also applied and was approved for the green charge card. Only one hard pull on report.

Thank you! I used your tips and increased my CL on my Blue Cash Pref’d Amex from $10k to $25k I guess I could have tried for the $30k – 3x my current limit, but did not want to push it. (Account is only 5 months old, however I do have a Green Amex that is a 1 yr old, with a “35K Limit”.) My DR below 4%.

Fico score of 850. Several cards with 40k lines, including AE with 41k. Always pay in full! Over 10k paid to AE last month! Utilization is below 15% usually, never above 25%!! Just applied for Blue Cash preferred and only got immediate 15k CL. WHY so low compared to all my other cards?? And is asking for 45k too extreme? Many thanks!

Today I requested a CLI online for my Amex Everyday Card from $13k and was instantly approved for $25k. I was tempted to ask for 3 times like the post suggested but didn’t want to risk going over the $25k without them requesting IRS 4506T or getting denied. I’m very happy with this increase for now but I will work on some other cards to see how much more I can get. Thank you very much for the tip.

I requested a CLI for my Amex Everyday card of $13k limit and was instantly approved for a $25k limit. I have a $500 balance on the card and my score CS range from 770-800. I only requested a $25k limit so as to avoid the need to fill out the 4506T. For now I’m happy with this CLI and will pursue my other cards for additional CLI. Thanks for this great tip.

Bob says:
April 14, 2016 at 1:22 am
Fico score of 850 and 854!!. Several cards with 40+k lines, including AE with 41k. Always pay in full! Over 10k paid to AE last month! Utilization is below 15% usually, and almost never above 25%!! Just applied for Blue Cash preferred but only got immediate 15k CL. WHY so very low compared to all my other cards?? And is asking for 45k too extreme? Many thanks!

Since you mention that Amex only does a soft pull for credit limit increases. My question is if I open a new CC, I’m looking for something with 0% intro APR on purchases since right now I’m abroad and moving back to NY in August and will probably have some big expenses as my wife and I settle back.
My credit per Amex website is 788. One of the reasons it gives that it is not higher is because of my utilization (owe about $2800 in student loans). So far though I use a Barclays card and the Amex and always pay my entire balance.
What do you think I should do?
Thanks.

Just tried my second increase (last one was in march 2015 from $8200 to $25k). I requested 50K and received a message: “Your request for a line of credit increase has been submitted. You will receive a written response within 7-10 days.” I have no baddies on my report, have a 780 FICO, and only about 6% overall credit usage. Did I exceed the request/grant limit somehow? I see some responses indicate to not request over a 25K limit.

Does anything I have been declined a credit line increase because I requested more than the 3x increase? My income is $150k, when I opened the acct my FICO was 620, now it is 726+ my initial credit line was $1,000, I asked for an increase to $10,000 but it was declined and provided my a letter with reason stating my FICO was was the reason they could not approve my request. This card is the only one that did not give me an increase yet, I have had it for just over 1 year. any suggestions on what I need to do to get an increase? Thanks.

I have had the card for about 6 months after 3 months I requested an increase of 3x the cl…. They told me I had 2 many inquiries. Last Sunday I received an email they automatically increased my CL to 10k

American Express sent me an email offering to raise my credit limit; however, they want to know my income which I’m not inclined to provide. I don’t recall ever being asked this in the past. Is it a new thing? Any way around it? Thanks. Lynn

I am an Australian American Express Customer – 2 new Cards approved and supplied on the 7/5/16. Can anyone please tell me if the CLI x3 works for an aussie member? I have the essentials card and the Qantas Discovery.

Also, I am wondering if there is an amount of cards that have a restriction on for approval?

I have had American express everyday carry perfered card for almost a year. Afrer 60 days request increase and got it. Started low amount and now it is up to $10,000.00. I applied for another got it yesterday w/ $2000.00 I requested a $4,000.00 increase =$6,000.00. I was approved for the increase.

Done. In the future, bear in mind that while the email address is not published, the name is published. So use a name that you are comfortable with being in public – it doesn’t have to be your real name, just anything.

I did my 2nd 3x CLI increase over 6 months ago. I’m at 22.5K.
Is there any history of ppl going for a 3rd increase with just a soft pull using the 800 # or the website?
i would like to ask for 25k. My scores are around 765.

I just got my blue reward card July 30, and after reading everything tried the quick 3x ClI and they said no. I’m fact the csr said I have to wait 90 days not 60. Huh? They either changed things up or something. Should I try to call back n get a diff csr.? Or wait the 90days. Also I applied for the clI online if that matters

Ok, the fact that you applied online and called in you now have to wait the 90 day grace period. Amex is really good about evaluation of accounts ensuring that you get your credit limits. Keep on paying each month and at the 90 day grace period call in again and request 3x your limit. Do not do it through online portion it’s faster to get your answer via phone call.

I did 3x at my 60th day, and then 30 days later received a letter in the mail for another 3x limit raise, I was on vacation so I didn’t get the letter till I got home, but they did approve it.

My wife just tried increasing her CL online from 6100 to 20k but the system said the max it can approve is exactly 3 times of what her CL was i.e. 18300. She accepted it happily and the new CL immediately showed up online. Thanks DOC!

Weird, Amex must have something against my SO. She’s got ~$500K income (which she understated to $400K) and yet had to send in income verification to increase credit limit from $10K to a measly $20K. She was also denied for Plat card once, while I am retired, show no income yet was immediately approved despite having multiple hard pulls and cards with a ton of issuers. She has higher FICO (810+), lower utilization, far fewer pulls, vastly higher income and perfect long credit history. She complained to Executive Office about being denied the Plat and was essentially told to get lost. Amex is fubar.

Hello everyone!
I’m excited looking at everyone’s credit increase. This is just the site i wanted to reach out to. So i have my CL 22,000 from Amex and i am in a dilemma whether to increase the CL or just apply another credit card from Amex. I need to buy a car next month and that’s why i thought a little more Credit would come handy. At first Amex gave me 15,000 and then like a fool i put an increase to 22,000. Yeah i was scared that i would be denied(should have visited this site earlier).
So, please please suggest me if i have to increase my limit(if yes, how much would sound approving)?
Or would i just apply for another card?
I have been using Amex since May.

Great blog here and eager to try the 3x increase. But just a quick question first and other readers please feel free to answer too.
I have the SPG amex business card which was approved in Sep 2016 for a CL of 25,000. Would the 3x trick still work? i.e. i want to request an increase to 75,000.
Since Sep 2016, I’ve spent about 15k on the card and the balance is paid up in full.

I believe it has changed back to 61 days after card approval…because tried after I received my Everyday card..they told me to wait 61 days .I waited 70 days from card approval date and was approved online immediately for 3x limit.

same here i tried before 60 days and was denied reason given: that account needs to be opened 60 days or more for cli.. gives time to bring balances down too yes i hope i get my cli 3x after when i try again! in jan or feb

So I really enjoy all of this and great info. Recently applied for Amex Skymiles and denied with mid 600 scores. I have a good past history as an authorized user and had a a card 30 years ago that I closed. Applied at Chase and got Freedom unlimited for $4500 and got Saphire Preferred for $8000 2 days later. I have 2 cell phone collections I am negotiating and a USAA visa I’ve had 18 years. Any suggestions for time till reapply, which card. I do have 13 recent inquiries as I have an expanding business.

I have a question guys. How long does it generally take for credit card info to appear on your credit report? I received an Amex BCE card in November 2016 and no information has appeared on my report as of yet. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Mr. Charles,
I have a $2500 balance on Discover and $2000 on Sears.
Been paying double the minimum on each.
My American Express has a $1500 limit and I have always paid my balances on that one in full.
Have had my Amex card 4 years and never asked for an increase but would like to.
The only issue outside of those cc balances is that my income has dropped from 50K year to 30 due to cutbacks.
Will it hurt to ask for an increase and will they approve or deny?
Your website has started to educate me so thank you for providing information to those of us needing this valuable service.

Thanks William!!! Your advice gave me the courage to pull the trigger on requesting Amex raise me from 6k to 18k. And boom!! Just like that, I’ve got a whole lot more credit to work with. I keep my utilization under 10% on all of my cards, so that doesn’t give me a ton of room to use my credit. With this 12k increase, I have $1200 more credit dollars that I can use without my utilization being over 10% at any given time.

You rock!! Thanks for the info!
BTW, opened this card a year and a half ago. 2k original limit. After 2 months increased it to 6k. Now, about a year later 18k. My score is 802/803. Hope that helps someone.

Had Hilton Surpass for 2 years. Tried for 3x – which would be $15K. Asked me to fill out a 4506-T form. The problem is that they asked me to include all of the income available to me – including retirement funds. We have a large amount in there – but that isn’t going to show on my 1040’s for the lasat 2 years.

Hey Guys! On Jan 12th I was approved for the Delta Skymiles Card with a $9000 limit. Five days later, I applied for the AMEX EveryDay Card and was approved with a $1600 limit. My Experian FICO score is 695. After careful consideration, I decided to request an increase online. I requested $24000, and it was APPROVED. Not to mention, on Jan 12th I also applied for a credited card with Navy Federal Credit Union, and i was approved for $24000 as my starting credit limit!

I have had my AMEX for 15 yrs, around 2012 i took out a personal loan and did a few BT on different cards, i did not touch my AMEX.

I also had an AMEX business card at that time. My personal card had a CL of $20k and i believe my biz card was at $8k. I received a letter in 2012 stating that my CL were reduced, they took my personal card and my business card all the way to a grand. That was a huge decrease.

Last yr i asked them to restore it to the original amount and they refused. My score is still pretty high.

Any tips on how i can get back my original limit, i have a clean track record with AMEX and have been using a gold charge card for the past 5 yrs without issues?

I just recently requested a second CLI over the weekend. Current available credit was $20,000.

I requested a limit of $50,000 and noticed that the approval was taking a lot longer than my last (and first request), so I was expecting to be declined. A message finally appeared:

Your request for a line of credit increase has been submitted. You will receive a written response within 7­-10 days.

It was not a big deal to me, as it is a soft pull and I do not ever carry a balance or charge over 10% of my available credit. The only reason I wanted an increase to that specific amount is because I am looking to purchase a used (but newer) SUV. And rather than pay cash, I figure I will put it on my AmEx and reap the rewards (after paying the purchase of the SUV off immediately). Cash will not give me any such bonus or incentives. Why waste the opportunity to get something in return?

Anyway, after doing some reading, I realized I had placed the request at exactly 180 days. So rather than wait for the letter, the next day (181 days) I attempted the CLI request, again. In just 2-3 seconds, I received the following message:

Congratulations! Your request to increase your line of credit to $50,000 has been approved and will be available for use within 15 minutes.

It was updated, immediately.

So for those who get the 7-10 days response, it could be that they require further information, or, it could be because you requested it, too soon. In my case, it was one day too soon. My advice would be to put in another request. The system will not allow you to if you are not permitted. So if it lets you, you should be good to go.

To add, I have never carried a balance on my AmEx in the four years I have had it. No matter the balance, I pay it in full. If I make multiple purchases in a single day, I will make multiple payments. I have only recently (a few months) allowed the statement to close with a balance, as I saw my credit score jump after doing so. The balance left was an accident initially. I had booked a vacation just before my closing date and left on the trip immediately (the same day). Since I was away, I was unable to pay the balance as I normally do. So I paid it upon my return. This reported a large balance to my credit reports and yielded a positive benefit. So now I allow the statement to close with whatever recent balance I have, then pay it off entirely, the next day.

I also do not have an insanely high credit score. My scores (true FICO) are as follows:

Equifax: 781
Experian: 798
Transunion: 791

I do have a large amount of cash in savings that I do not touch, but American Express has never asked for proof of this (although I would be willing to provide it if they asked).

I requested 1 month ago (less than 60 days with my AMex crdeit card) to increase my limit, they denied (of course) I did not know that if I tried less than 90 days another increase they would do a Hard inquiry not a soft one. I was really disappointed (I had no increase and plus a hard inquiry ). Should I try again in 90 days or they will do another hard inquiry?

I have had the Amex Blue Cash Everyday Card since Dec. 2016, with an starting CL of $1,000.00. This of course was no surprise, as I was trying to rebuild my credit, with a TU of 650 and EF of 645. I made both small and large purchases with this card and always paid the balance in full every month, except for two months, in which I left a revolving balance (under 7% utilization of course). Today, 05/03/17, I requested a CLI increase for the normal 3X, which would have brought my CL to 3K. I was only approved for a $1,000.00 increase, and now my CL is 2K. It’s not quite what I was expecting, but I will take it and apply for another CLI in 6 months. Hopefully this small increase helps to improve my FICO Score, which is currently at 660. I know this may seem minuscule to most people, but you have to crawl before you can walk.

Requested 2.1x increase on SPG Personal *which has only a $2k limit) online, got the 7-10 message on the website. Also received an email with a number to call in, which is an automated system. Automated system couldn’t find a record of the CLI request, so now I wait for the letter. New to Amex, both SPG cards are my first cards with them. Hopefully I will be able to request again after 61 days, as this $1k limit is rather annoying.

Got an Amex everyday with 2k limit on 3/31, requested bump to 6k today (5/31) and was approved !!!! This will be my first card over 5k which will be invaluable moving forward. Can’t thank DoC enough for this great resource. I bookmarked the CC reference page and visit it frequently

had 4k limit on a card that is like 5 years old (had transferred credit to other cards. i requested increase to 16k (forgot about 3x rule). got request for 4506T. i went back 10 minutes later and requested increase to 10k and was instantly approved.

I have the spg personal. Called customer service today to ask if a credit limit increase ($5 to $15k) would result in a hard or soft pull. The rep said that she didn’t know, but referred me to their credit bureau department. I called them … explained that I wanted to increase the limit, but that I do my best to avoid hard pulls, because they stay on your credit report for a relatively long time (2 years). The rep was super knowledgeable and smart. She said it would definitely result in a hard pull. She was absolutely categorical about it; she didn’t say, “well, it might be soft or hard, depending on xyx factor(s)” … there was no hesitation or doubt in her voice. Just passing this information along. In the discussion thread, there’s not really any mention from contributors as to whether they actually experienced a hard or soft pull. I’m wondering if a lot of people only find out after the fact, such as when they see their credit report later on, that it was a hard pull. I’d definitely proceed if it was just a soft pull, but apparently it’s not. If people here have only had soft pulls, it would be great to know that. Maybe the rep was wrong, or just being an excellent credit “gatekeeper.” Hope this is helpful to the DoC community.

You can read about my most recent CLI above. I have requested two. In both instances, they have been soft pulls as I frequently review my credit reports (all three major bureaus) and subscribe to paid credit monitoring which alerts me of any inquiries which result in hard pulls. I never request increases if the card issuer does a hard pull. American Express (along with one other issuer) has never done a hard pull.

As always great information. Currently at 16% total utilization and carry a small balance (at 0%). I have 2 AMEX cards with 1 only being 30 days old. The other I have had about 18 months. Tried online and with the older card and received 3X increase right away. Thank you.

I got the AMEX Everyday Card in April 2017 and was instantly approved with a $10K limit. This was really my first real credit card. I only had a card with Nordstrom ($800 limit) and GAP ($500 limit) that I’ve had for several years when my credit wasn’t in the best shape. Just last week, Nordstrom automatically increased my limit to $2800 which made me request an increase with GAP and they instantly approved a $1200 limit. I currently have a $230 balance with Nordstrom ($2800 limit), $0 balance with GAP ($1200 limit) and a $1600 balance with AMEX ($10K limit). I’d like to request an increase with AMEX just to help my overall ratio.There are things I’d like to use the card for, but I do not want to exceed the 30% utilization. For the record, I have never paid just the minimum on this card. I’ve used the card for travel quite a bit in the last few months so I’ll typically pay about $500-1000 on the card bi-monthly. My current TU is 724 and EQ is 738 and current salary is $72K. I feel as though the other people commenting that were approved have their balances paid off completely so I’m not sure that I should request an increase. Is it safe to request at this time, if so should I go for $30K? Please advise.

Personally, I would wait (the reason being is the account is extremely new). But again, that is just me, and I am different than most when it comes to my credit cards. I do not rely on credit cards as much as others, so limits are not as relevant. I currently have a $50,000 limit with American Express – I will not be requesting another CLI, as I do not need it.

However, from what I have read here, you can request one in as little as 60 days. So if you would like to, go ahead. It is truly a soft pull, so it will not affect your credit score in any way. If they need to verify your income, you will not receive an immediate approval, but a message of “Your request for a line of credit increase has been submitted. You will receive a written response within 7­-10 days.” The only downside is that if they deny you, you must wait 90 days before applying for an increase again. So the reward is worth more than the risk here.

I did not request an increase for three and a half years after obtaining my American Express card. There was no reason other than the fact that I did not need one. I still pay for my purchases as I make them, so the increase in limit was never required. However, as my written account above states, I began considering making larger purchases (vehicle) and was traveling for longer periods of time which required more significant transactions (e.g. hotels, rental cars, airfare, etc.). The increases gave me far more than I needed and I never have to worry that I am coming close to approaching my limit with any holds or when closing a bill.

Again, it will not hurt to request it. Regardless of what some have posted in the comments, the information by the publisher is correct; it results in a soft pull. I have verified this with both of my increases via all three credit reporting bureaus. They never show as a hard pull. If AmEx did a hard pull for credit limit increases, I would never request them (just as I do not with companies that do – my limits simply remain the same as it is not worth my score decreasing).

I got approved for my Amex in June with a 2,000 CL and just requested my Increase today and was approved for 6,000. I wanted to lower my balance before requesting but instead I went for it. My balance was at $474. Hope this helps !

I have the Amex blue cash card with an initial credit limit of 6000. Today was my 61st day of membership, I listened to all of the comments about the 3x credit limit increase after 60 days. I applied for increase and was approved instantly. Now my credit limit is 18000. By the way I had a balance of 1300 so I wasn’t sure I would get the increase, but I did. Hope this helps. Thanks so much for all of you guys input!

I applied for an American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card and was approved with a 10K Credit Limit. I have a Gold Card with a 1K limit and also a Quick Silver Card. I use the Blue Cash Everyday Card quite a bit and always make multiple payments ahead of time and more than the minimum. I tried applying for a credit limit increase and was denied due to utilization of other cards. I have continued to pay ahead of time and more than the balance and told them the reason I wanted a higher limit was to lower my utilization rate. My credit score is 665. Should I try and apply again or wait for them to give me an increase automatically?

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